


Of memories and soulmates

by lookslikepatricia



Series: Of stuff and soulmates [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Basically nowdays 127, I finally found fun tags to add, It's a night out, Light Angst, Little Bit of Magic, M/M, Mentioned Dong Sicheng/Nakamoto Yuta, Mentioned pinning!Markhyuck, Not Beta Read, Not like Doyoung in this fic, drink responsibly, mentions of other nct members - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:34:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookslikepatricia/pseuds/lookslikepatricia
Summary: A night that was supposed to be about good food and drinking his stress away becomes a small trip through memory lane for Doyoung. Surrounded by the same people he has being friends with since high school, he can't help himself to remember things the prefered to leave in the past, especially when he finds out about certain bet made over his relationship with Taeyong.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong
Series: Of stuff and soulmates [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842940
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Of memories and soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again.  
> This time, in a shorter story about a soulmate couple whose relationship didn't work out.  
> And because I'm a sucker for Dotae, why not?  
> This is as self-indulgent as any other installment in this series, so I hope that anyone can enjoy it.

Of course, Doyoung was the first one to get to the Korean BBQ restaurant. He shouldn’t even be surprised, but it had been so long since he met up with any of them that the Medicine student had forgotten that his friends weren’t the most punctual people in the world. He stayed at the entry of the establishment, not wanting to sit alone in the table they had reserved for that night and was the only one who could fit nine people. A few minutes later, a part of his group appeared and they went inside.

“Hyung, why were you waiting outside?” Donghyuck asked him, in the usual impolite tone he used to talk to him. Their youngest friend had come with Mark, his best friend and ongoing not so secret crush, and the boy’s older brother, Johnny. It didn’t faze Doyoung, as the younger duo would never refuse a lift from the older.

“Didn’t want to look stupid alone in this huge table…” The Medicine student admitted, knowing anything he said could be made into a joke.

“Oh, we 100% would make fun of you because of that,” Johnny commented and Doyoung only made a gesture in his direction to indicate his acuteness of the situation while Mark giggled. After all, he had always been the main target of their friends' jokes.

In a way, the Medicine student knew it was for good fun and the boys had never crossed his limits. Well, Donghyuck used to take some jokes too far when he was younger, but that wasn’t only with Doyoung. All of the oldest members of their friend group had at least one big fight with the youngest throughout the years because of his sassy comments. Since the first time Mark had introduced them to his new classmate, Donghyuck’s cheekiness had become known by the group. Doyoung, at the time, only couldn’t understand why his annoying prodigious childhood neighbour had become friends with a somewhat calm, serious, and focused Mark. From that friendship, he only became aware that Johnny's younger brother had the ability to laugh from anything, just like he had been doing at the moment.

“I see Mark hasn’t lost his easy sense of humor.” The Medicine student commented observing the younger loud giggle, that always made him raise his shoulders and sound a bit panicked.

“I think he learned that from Taeyong,” Johnny said like he had guessed Doyoung’s thoughts while also observing his younger brother. “Our Markie always looked up to him”. That brought the younger's attention.

“Well, he was the coolest guy in high school, hyung…” He retorted and his older brother brought both hands over his heart, making a hurt face.

“Oh, Markie, you’re gonna kill hyung like this.” Donghyuck got in the joke, patting the oldest shoulder in a consoling way and closing his eyes in disapproving expression while Johnny continued acting like he was having his heartbroken. Doyoung only rolled his eyes and started serving everybody’s shots of soju so he could start drinking. Even though he wasn’t the oldest, their group usually only followed a third of society’s drinking rules.

Johnny’s reaction continued for a bit and Mark was caught between laughing, complaining, and worrying about getting other people’s attention. The two brothers had been like this since Doyoung met them, and probably before. Having been raised abroad until the beginning of Johnny’s first year of high school, they had a different dynamic than most, including the Medicine student's with his older brother. The nagging and teasing were the same, but they were a lot more chill about it. Or maybe that was only from the older personality. He took anything he did in a carefree manner and it had a calming effect on most of their friend group like he was that older brother who everybody could confide and rely on.

“Who is trying to kill Johnny hyung?” A pitched voice came from behind the table, where Jungwoo and Jaehyun had suddenly appeared. Most boys waved to welcome them, except for Johnny who got up.

“Jeffrey!” He exclaimed, opening his arms to Jaehyun.

“Johnny!” The other exclaimed back, also opening his arms and they hugged, receiving a mix of eye rolls and giggles.

“How long you two haven’t seen each other?” Mark asked, curious.

“A week…” Jaehyun answered, shrugging.

“Really? From that, anyone would think that it has been at least a year…” Doyoung commented while the other boys laughed.

“It's just that I miss Jaehyun a lot…” Johnny told him, pretending to clean some tears. “A day without him is like two weeks for me.”

“For me too, hyung.” The other said and they hugged again, receiving the same reactions from before. Anyone that didn’t know Johnny would think that he would be pursuing acting, but the way he knew how to control the mood of an ambient made a lot more sense in being behind the camera.

“How’s the channel doing, hyung?” Donghyuck asked him after the older let go of Jaehyun’s embrace.

“Could be doing better. People only like funny skits and vlogs. Especially the ones I’m trying something new...” He commented, helping Doyoung distribute the side dishes the waiter had just brought to their table. “The more introspective stuff gets almost no views.”

“I like them, hyung…” Jungwoo said and the older raised one of his eyebrows to him. “Your degree didn’t go to waste.” Johnny laughed without humor.

“Thanks, Jungwoo. But I have already told you to leave those kinds of jokes for people like me.” The older said, seriously.

“Wait, are you still trying to become a comedian?” Doyoung asked surprised and the other nodded. “Jungwoo, a guy like you could be playing the younger cute brother in every late-night drama around.”

“Don’t judge hyung for his dream…” The youngest nagged him. “No one bothered you for becoming a doctor.”

“Because it is a reliable and noble profession.” He retorted back in the same tone.

“Oh, missed this,” Jaehyun commented and he and Johnny nodded to each other enthusiastically.

“It’s okay, Hyuck-ah…” Jungwoo called, putting a hand on the youngest arm. “Dodo hyung is just showing his motherly concerns.” The aspiring comedian smiled brightly at the older and he didn’t say anything else, defeated by the cuteness. Jungwoo knew all his weakest spots and wasn’t ashamed to use any of them. 

Ever since Jaehyun had introduced the seemly shy younger boy to all his older friends, with who he had become friends after being left alone in high school by the occasion of Doyoung's graduation. the Medicine student had developed almost instantly a soft spot for Jungwoo, only to regret it as time passed by and the boy felt comfortable enough to show his shameless to the group. It somehow fitted him perfectly and, even though Doyoung disagreed with his intentions of pursuing acting, he could see both his cuteness and shamelessness working for him. Still, Jungwoo had always been a lot more innocent than Donghyuck and the older took a bit of pride in having a bigger influence on the boy than the youngest.

“I’m hungry…” Johnny cut in. “Does anyone have news of Taeil hyung?” He asked and Donghyuck took out his phone to send a text to their oldest friend. “If I knew he wouldn’t be mad, I would have already started grilling the meat.”

"Someone is coming in, though..." Mark commented, observing a man getting inside the restaurant through the window behind them. They all turned to the entrance, seeing Yuta rushing to their table.

"Hey, everybody!" The Japanese greeted the table, sitting quickly between Mark and Jungwoo. "Why aren't you guys eating?"

"Taeil hyung is late," Jaehyun answered, playing with a piece of kimchi.

"Oh, come 'on…" Yuta complained. "I thought when I got here, there would already be meat out!"

"That's why you are late?" Doyoung asked him, getting an ear-to-ear grin in return.

"No, I was making out with Sincheng under the bleachers after practice." Somehow his grin grew bigger after receiving disgusted faces from his friends. He always had been like this, unbothered and outspoken about anything, having a smile to accompany it all. Getting popular on campus for playing for the university's soccer team had only made his behavior worst, but the Japanese had balanced it a bit after graduating and becoming the assistant coach for the same team he had played for four years.

"Hyung says his train got stuck at one station but he is going to be here in less than five minutes," Donghyuck told them, still looking at his phone.

"And Taeyongie?" Yuta asked again, looking around the table.

"Who knows?" Johnny said. "He is the first one to get to that magazine in the morning and the last to leave."

"I think we can start grilling then…" Mark commented, stomach growling. One of them played the service bell and the meat came to the table at the same time Taeil entered the establishment.

Their timing couldn't have been better. Their oldest friend had come straight from one of his Master’s classes and was starving. He and Johnny got in charge of grilling the meat while the other boys busied themselves in starting the side dishes and drinking soju. Even with Taeyong still absent, they all felt the familiarity of the scene. Getting together to stuff themselves while jokes flew from side to side was one of the things they had done the most throughout the years, even if now they could afford to eat hanwoo instead of cheap samgyeopsal and the youngest could legally drink. But it didn’t matter how long had passed, moments like these were theirs and they wouldn’t trade them for anything else in the world.

“How is the thesis, hyung?” Jaehyun asked Taeil, who groaned.

“Don’t ask me about it. I don’t want to think about that shit.” The oldest said, turning the meat over the grill. 

“It can’t be that bad, hyung…” Donghyuck commented, with the whining voice he used to talk to him.

“It is. Professor Oh sent me an email yesterday correcting one of the chapters. She wrote so many comments that the document crushed my computer.”

“But she is a pain in the ass…” The youngest grumbled and Taeil gave him a small comprehensive smile. “She made me rewrite my paper about Sinbyeong three times because it wasn't accurate enough. It’s not my fault I never went through it!”

“You know she is very old-fashioned in her views of magic, Hyuck…” The oldest looked at him, shrugging. “After all she specialized in traditional shamanism.”

“I know…” He whined. “Still a pain in the ass.”

“Can you guys leave the magical talk for another time?” The Japanese asked, annoyed.

“Yeah, guys, don’t throw your magical powers at our non-magical faces, please.” Johnny completed, sarcastically.

Both the oldest and the youngest of their group were attending Magic University. Taeil had already graduated and was finishing his Master's degree while Donghyuck was still in his first year. Both had, also, caught their professors' attention. The oldest for his hard work and desire to take his academic research about soulmates as far as he could while the youngest had been under their eye since the first time he set foot on the university. Having skipped a grade in elementary school and doing better than most of his freshman peers even being a year younger only made them all even more eager to have Donghyuck under their academic wings. Being, also, the only wizards in the group made them develop a tight bond despite their age difference of six years.

“Hyung?” Jaehyun called suddenly and Doyoung turned to him. “How much did you drink already?” He looked at his empty shot glass and the soju bottle beside it.

“Half..” The Medicine student said, simply, touching the bottle.

“You should slow it down, right?” The younger commented, affectionately and he wondered if that was the way he talked to his kindergarten students. Doyoung had never seen him teach, but he imagined that Jaehyun's kindness and his calm personality made him as popular with children as his handsome face. Maybe it was exactly because of that that he chose his path in Education.

“He is preparing himself for when Taeyong comes.” Yuta chipped in a wild smile on his face, making Doyoung roll his eyes at the Japanese. He, then, served himself another shot under everyone’s attentive eyes. 

“Actually, Jaehyun is right.” Johnny intervened before he could drink, trading his cup for a plate of meat straight out of the grill. Doyoung pouted in his direction only making the older smirk. “You can go back to drink your stress away after you put some food inside of you.”

“Is it that bad?” Mark asked between bites. “Medical school, I mean?”

“Hell on earth…” Doyoung answered, starting to eat. “But I bet Engineering is as bad…”

“Not really…” The younger shrugged. “At least I made a few friends.”

“That’s true. How is that guy who put a whole plate of coriander on his ramyeon?” Johnny asked his younger brother.

“Still doing that. But at least he isn’t drinking caffeine anymore.” Everybody else turned to Mark. “He used to ask for eight shots in his americano, so Jeno made him go to the doctor, and Jaemin got scolded because of it.” The Engineering student laughed while the rest of the table gave him yellow smiles. At the same time, a lean figure got closer to the table without anyone noticing. Taeyong had come into the restaurant in silence, trying not to catch anyone’s attention and the first person who saw him was Doyoung, who had turned in his direction and met eyes with him like he had sensed his presence. A few seconds passed while they stared at each other's eyes.

“Hyung!” Donghyuck and Jungwoo exclaimed suddenly at the same time and the moment was broken. The other boys greeted him, excitedly, because even though they hadn’t had a group hang out in a while, Taeyong was the biggest reason they had decided to meet up that night. It had been a few months that any of them had seen him in person, only keeping contact through texts.

“Did you lose weight?” Johnny asked while the other sat down.

“Does it look like it?” Taeyoung answered, giving a glance at his own body.

“You look smaller…” Yuta commented, and the other only shrugged. In the meantime, Doyoung had recovered his shot glass and was refilling it. He had come out to have a good time, not to worry about Taeyong’s health. Still, after quickly emptying his glass, he pushed some of the side dishes in front of him to the older, who whispered a small thanks to him.

“Guys, give him some space.” Taeil intervened, making a huge pile of meat on a plate. “Taeyong just got here and is probably tired from work.” He then put the meat on the other’s hand with a small head gesture to make Taeyong start eating, which he did immediately.

“We’re just worried…” Jaehyun said, defending the other’s attitudes. “It’s been a while, hyung.” He then turned to the older, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We’ve missed you.”

“I missed you guys, too,” Taeyong said, after swallowing a mouthful of rice. “I’m sorry if work has kept me too busy to hang out.”

“Is working keeping you busy or are you burying yourself under it?” Yuta asked, masking his worry with an eye roll.

“It’s just that we got a new intern…” He answered, seeing right through the Japanese’s façade. “And he is very promising. That kid got a bright future in front of him.” Taeyong chewed a bit of meat under everyone’s diligent eyes. “He also reminds me at that age. Very creative and hard working. He even customizes his own clothes.” That made Doyoung glare at the older and remember the Taeyong from their high school days, who was a lot less mature and more hot-blodded than the one sitting next to him. That, however, had always contrasted the warmness the other would never lose and Taeyong's whole personality had have a attractiong edge to the Medical student. Memories of afternoons studying on the older's bedroom while he drawn on sneakers or t-shirts came with it and Doyoung suppressed them with another shot of soju.

“You found a mini Taeyong?” Johnny asked and half of the table laughed.

“No…” The fashion editor dismissed the other’s joke with one hand. “But he has kind of become my protegee. I want to help him to reach his full potential.”

“So you are overworking both of you in the process?” Doyoung asked, without realizing, and the table’s whole focus went to him. Jaehyun snatched his glass of soju that was already been refilled with a warning look, but he wasn’t paying attention. Taeyong was giving him a disturbed look and the Medicine student felt his cheeks warm up. “Sorry, hyung.” He turned around, avoiding the older.

“These hyungs always break the mood down…” Donghyuck complained and Johnny took the cue.

“At least it wasn’t Jungwoo’s jokes…” He said, turning to the younger, who was in the middle of stuffing himself with the food.

“Hyung!” He complained, mouth full. A few grains of rice jumped out of it and the table exploded in laughs.

From there, the tension dissolved and Johnny and Jungwoo entered a competition of who could make the other’s laugh more, with the occasional savage comment from Donghyuck. Suddenly, it was like they hadn’t grown up and Doyoung could almost see all of them wearing their school uniforms. He gave Taeyong a small glance and felt a small pang in his chest that he hadn’t missed. The older felt it and turned to him, giving him a fond smile and the Medicine student shook his head, trying to get rid of more memories threatening to invade his mind. He refocused in the conversation as the food was cleared from the table and a few of the boys decided to order noodles too.

“You guys remember the food competition Taeil hyung won?” Jaehyun commented after they ordered again.

“The one he ate 10 ramyeons in 15 minutes?” Yuta asked like he wasn’t sure and the other nodded. “That was wild, hyung.” The Japanese turned to the oldest, who had closed down his expression.

“The diarrhea I had was wild too…” Taeil scoffed.

“Wait, when was that?” Jungwoo asked, confused.

“I think it was freshman year at university…” The oldest thought out loud.

“It was before you became part of the group, Jung-ah,” Taeyong informed him, warmly.

“Why did you do it, hyung?” Donghyuck cut in, clinging to the oldest.

“I was broke and the prize covered my expenses for three months.”

“That makes sense…” Johnny commented, looking lost in memories. “We had fun, right?” He asked while looking around the table.

“We definitely did…” Taeyong said, still finishing to eat. Most of the other friends were starting to just drink now. “You and Yuta were the kings of pranks in school.” He finished, a small fun smile on his lips.

“Oh, yeah….” Doyoung intervened, after another soju shot. “Invading the school at night and filling the science lab with balloons for no reason was very fun.” His tone was bitter, clearly contrasting with the mood of the table, where everybody else was laughing because of the memory.

“Hey, we had a reason…” The filmmaker said. “We were helping your presidential campaign!” He pointed at the Medicine student.

“And my candidature got withdrawn because of it.” The younger responded, angrily and Johnny turned away, apologizing.

“I think no one else has ever beat that one…” Mark commented, thinking deeply.

“Oh, I did!” Donghyuck exclaimed, an evil smile appearing on his lips. “Remember that time we colored hyung’s hair purple? He had to go to uuniversity's freshman week with it.” Half of the table laughed again, except for Teyong and Jaehyun who looked empathetic at Doyoung.

“Yeah, that was very funny....” The Medical student commented, taking another shot. 

“Do you think that’s why hyung is becoming an alcoholic?” Jungwoo asked, jokingly. He turned around the table when he didn’t get the reaction he was expecting, with only a few yellow smiles here and there.

“You don’t need to be mean to be funny, Jungwoo-yah.” The target of his joke said, affectionately and the younger nodded to him, a bit embarrassed.

“Isn't amzing how Doie hyung always favorite Jungwoo over us?” Donghyuck asked Mark, also taking a shot of soju.

“It’s because he isn’t the spam of the devil and his whipped companion like you two…” Doyoung commented, with a smirk, making both boys blush.

“That’s true, though…” Johnny commented and then turned to the two youngest. “How are you two not dating yet?” He asked, curious.

“Hyung!” They protested loudly.

“Johnny hyung is right….” Jaehyun said, observing the pair. “Hyuck is such a confident gay, but Mark always made him hesitant.”

“It’s because he really likes Mark…” Yuta cut in, a huge grin apparent. “But Doyoung isn’t someone who can point his finger at him.”

“Why not?” He asked the older, challengingly.

“You never asked Taeyong out, did you?” The Japanese asked back and a blush crept on the Medical student’s face. He turned to the other, who was already looking at him, and the memories that Doyoung wanted to avoid finally came rushing through his head, with hands being held from under tables and stolen kisses in the dark during sleepovers. “That was what I thought,” Yuta said, satisfied. “I still want my part of the bet, guys…” He commented, eyeing everybody else at the table.

“Wait, bet?” Taeyong asked, confused, and the other boys avoided his gaze. “Even you, hyung?” He was specifically talking to Taeil.

“Sorry, Yongie…” The oldest apologized, embarrassed. “But if it makes it better, I put my money on you two getting together.”

“You did?” Doyoung asked, unbelievingly and he only nodded. Taeyong turned to him again and they exchanged a mysterious look.

“Ok…” The fashion editor said, turning to his bag, that hanging on his chair, and got pen and paper. “What was everyone’s bet?” He started writing their names on the paper and Doyoung looked challenging at them.

“You two are taking this better than I thought…” Johnny said and took a shot while the two boys only shrugged to answer him. “Suspicious… Anyway, I said Doyoung would confess but you would turn him down because you only see him like a younger brother who could bicker back at you.” He finished, getting closer to Taeyong and observed what he was writing on the paper.

“Hyung!” The Medical student exclaimed, complaining. “I wouldn’t get turned down by Taeyong hyung. I have my charms.”

“Sorry, Dods…” The filmmaker raised his gaze at him, empathetic. “I was young and couldn’t have guessed you would end up looking this good.” He finished winking and biting his lips at the younger, who turned around, panicking. The older only laughed at this reaction.

“I said something similar to Johnny hyung…” Both Taeyong and Doyoung turned to Jaehyun. “That both of you would be too scared of confessing and would be like Mark and Hyuck over here…” He smirked at the two youngest, making Donghyuck furious.

“Also you had a crush on Doyung hyung at the time, wasn’t it?” The youngest Magic student retorted, but Jaehyun didn’t look fazed by it while the Medical student was turning to him, very surprised. He never had imagined the Education student would have even looked his way.

“I wouldn’t call it a crush…” Jaehyun commented, nonchalantly. “It was a purely physical thing…” He also winked at Doyoung, making him blush again. In response to that, Taeyong forcedly coughed to regain people’s attention.

“Mark…” He called next, somewhat bothered by Jaheyun’s confession.

“I thought you guys would get together at uni, hyung…” The Engineer student said, apologetically.

“Yuta?” He turned to the Japanese, who was grinning.

“I said the same as Jaehyun…” He commented and then turned to Doyoung. “But I never wanted to suck your dick like him. Sorry, Dods.” The Medical student blushed more, but at the same time he made sure to roll his eyes to the Japanese.

“There was no need for that…” Doyoung said, taking a new shot.

“Well, I’m having fun…” The youngest at the table said, smirking.

“Jungwoo?” Taeyong called, ignoring Donghyuck for now.

“Same as Mark and Taeil hyung…” He answered, embarrassed, and took a sip of his drink to not look at them. The pair then turned to the youngest, who was still smirking.

“Hyuck?” The fashion editor called, getting tired.

"I bet that you two would secretly date until the day you got caught by any of us.” He affirmed and the shocked look the pair shared made his grin got bigger.

“Well…” Taeyong said, looking at his list. “Hyuck is the closest, I guess…” He completed, scratching his head, not really sure of what to say more and the rest of the table widened their eyes in surprise.

During the whole conversation, both Taeyong and Doyoung were split by their friends' guesses and their secret past. It was true that they had dated in secret, but they weren’t together anymore. The ex-couple exchanged looks and it was like they were taken back at the fashion editor’s last year of high school when Doyoung asked him to stay a bit after class because he had something serious to tell him. It made the older giddy and anxious at the same time. Since the two had become close, he felt himself getting more and more attached to the younger. At the beginning of his senior year, it had come to a point where his crush on Doyoung couldn’t be denied anymore and he hoped that the small gestures of kindness and care the younger had behind his bickering and cold exterior would mean something more.

It had and an impossibly red Doyoung had given him a box of his favorite chocolates while staggering that he liked him. Taeyong said he felt the same, but it took him a while to convince the younger he was serious. Knowing their friends, the newly formed couple decided to keep their blooming relationship in secret for a while, so they could go out in peace. They kept it mostly to themselves while at school or during their group's hangouts, but with time, they got bolder and shared kisses and touches in the dark of cinemas or Johnny's live room while the whole group watched some movies together. No one suspected a thing and by the end of the school year, they found that their secret worked better like that.

That time also brought new experiences to them and the matching hooping rabbits on their hip bones made them realize their soulmate bond. Taeyong left for university after their first summer together and they built their relationship around his busy university schedule and Doyoung’s obsessive studying habits that had gone worse because of his dream of becoming a doctor. All the hard work paid off and Taeyong moved out of the dorm to live with him as soon as he got accepted to Mecical school. They kept their couple moments inside of the tiny studio apartment they could barely afford and got comfortable around their friends' constant jokes about them being like an old married couple. 

With the years, however, they started having less and less time for each other and their relationship felt like a burden. At first, they both decided to ignore that feeling but what had been great chemistry and care hidden by bickering had transformed into harsh words and big misunderstandings. It wasn’t necessarily that their love or bond had changed, but they as people had. Arts school and an internship in a fashion magazine had made Taeyong more work focused than his romantic nature could have guessed, and Medical school had turned Doyoung into a lot more cynical and stressed them before. They were sure they would in each other’s life until they died, but the relationship was worn out. So they called it quits and moved out of what had been their home for two years.

Meeting up after that always had a bittersweet taste to both of them. The last few years had passed between being too busy to hang out and wondering if things could have gone differently. Taeyong missed the everyday nagging and, in his most sensitive moments, yearned for the younger’s arms, consoling him in a tight embrace. Doyoung wished he could see the older’s constant soft smile again and be the reason for it. And every time they look at their hip bone, seeing the now sleeping bunny made their hearts ache. Still, their friendship survived the breakup and they kept being the closest to each other in their friend group.

“You guys are dating in secret?” Mark asked, voice breaking from the shock and chaos insured in the table. Everybody was already tipsy and suddenly talking at the same time, making Taeyong trying to get their attention almost impossible. He looked over to Doyoung to ask for help but the Medical student seemed lost in thoughts.

“We are not dating!” The fashion editor exclaimed, raising his voice and they all turned to him, quietening down. He pretended that he didn’t see the small hurt on Doyoung’s eyes. After all, he had been the one that had just accepted when the older said he thought it was better for them to break up.

“But, hyung, you said…” Jungwoo started and Taeyong sighed, interrupting him.

“We were together for a few years, but…” The older turned again to his ex-boyfriend and this time their eyes met.

“It didn’t work it out.” Doyoung finished the phrase, still looking at him. Many emotions went from one to the other and they stopped paying attention to the arguments about the bet that had restarted around them. And the moment wasn’t broken by anyone, not even when Donghyuk snatched the paper on Taeyong’s hand or when Johnny or Jaehyun gave them careful glances.

Another hour passed in between discussions and new jokes about the ex-couple, which finally made the pair go back to the present. Doyoung, then, decided to mess even more with their friends, disclosing the fact that they were also soulmates in the most nonchalant way possible, which made the table explode again. But the loudest voice this time was Taeil’s, complaining that he could have been studying their case if he had known about it. It made them both laugh about it in a long time and the air between them became the least tense or awkward it had been in years. With a few more drinks, however, the whole subject got forgotten and, the now drunk group, left the restaurant staggering and having a blast just by being together. When they decided to go their separate ways, no one noticed Taeyong clinging to Doyoung's side and leaving with him.

**Author's Note:**

> I was very nervous while writing and posting this fic, as is my first attempt at an Nct one, so I hope I could at least write something interesting and a bit emotional.  
> A few important notes:  
> This fic is part of a series about different soulmates stories that don't go the traditional way and everyone is welcome to read the other installments.  
> This universe is somewhat magical, but, as I have been developing this aspect throughout the stories, it got diluted into most of them. Also about that, Sinbyeong is, according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbyeong) "is the possession from a god that a chosen mu (shaman) goes through in the Korean shamanic tradition. It is said to be accompanied by physical pain and psychosis. Believers would assert that the physical and mental symptoms are not subject to medical treatment, but may only be cured through acceptance of and full communion with the spirit" and I put this mention here in order to start exploring it influences (that I really hope I'm being respectful towards) to the series's magical elements.   
> And somehow I didn't notice while I was writing it that I put Jeno and Jaemin in Mark's course while making Heachan a prodigy because I wanted him in the hangout. But their mention was so fun, that I decided to not take it out.  
> Last, but not least I decided to keep Doyoung's stage name just because Dongyoung is bigger. Also, I know that his "official" nickname is Doie, but I and my friends call him Dodo and I think it's cute.  
> Anyway, I talked I lot in here and I just want to thank anyone who took their time to read this. Any interaction literally makes my day.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


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